Task Force 141: Operation Baseplate
by Shockeye7665
Summary: In 1996, four SAS operators conduct Operation Baseplate, a covert mission in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsular. Their mission, to assassinate Imran Zakhaev. Part of the Task Force 141 series.
1. Insertion

**Disclaimer: Call of Duty does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Activision.  
**

* * *

 _Upper Deck, United States Air Force C-5B Galaxy, currently over the Bering Strait, the Pacific Ocean_.  
 _16th December, 1996_.

Sitting in four of the 75 passenger seats within the upper deck of the C-5B Galaxy, near to the stairs leading to the cargo hold, were four men, dressed in Disruptive Pattern Material uniforms and wearing elbow pads, kneepads and combat boots, relaxing before they commenced a High Opening, High Altitude jump from around 35,000 ft above the Bering Strait.

Then one of the four men said, "Alright, get your thermals on. Then we meet downstairs and get ready".

And as they all got up from their chairs, and headed to get their thermally insulated jumpsuits over their uniforms, one of them with a still-growing moustache and beard started grumbling slightly of having his relaxation disturbed, "Mac could have waited a bit longer..."  
A chuckle followed that and a Lancastrian accent said in response, "Oh, Leftenant, where's the fun in that? C'mon, let's get to it".

In no time at all, the men quickly got the jumpsuits on, easy enough as they had done it several times before.  
Then, as the three men went down the stairs, they soon saw around 7 loadmasters in the cargo hold, along with Mac himself, who had gotten his thermals on quicker than anyone else and was already waiting for them.

Captain Kenneth MacMillan, was only 33-years old, but to them, he was considered a legend amongst his colleagues in the Regiment.  
Born and raised in Glasgow, on June 13th 1963, Mac had attended Glasgow University, before attending Sandhurst after graduation, then was commissioned into the Royal Scots in 1985, before passing Selection on his first try as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1986, he served in the Gulf War, leading a team to hunt down Iraqi SCUD missiles that were targeting Israel, deep in Western Iraq, exploits which earned him the rank of Captain.  
MacMillan was married to Gillan Carroll, a Solicitor's daughter, and had two young daughters, Lily and Claire, who were both 7 and 5 years old.

Before the Captain, were three of the 4-man patrol that would be commencing their current mission.

Mac's 2iC, and protege, was Lieutenant John Price.  
Born on October 6th, 1965, in Colchester, Essex, Price joined the Army at the age of 16 in 1981, serving in the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, before deciding to take on a new challenge and join the SAS in 1986.  
Once there, Mac had taken the Sergeant-turned-Trooper, under his wing, and Price, who accepted Mac as a mentor, soon rose through the ranks, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant just as the Gulf War started, serving with Mac's team in Iraq.  
Married to Andrea Connors, the Lieutenant would undoubtably be a first-time father by the time Christmas and the New Year had passed. And even though he was trying to set an example as 'a Rupert', as so called by the rest of the men, Price was no doubt excited for the impeding arrival of his firstborn child.

The patrol's demolitionist, Staff Sergeant Henry Finch, was the eldest man in the team, having been born on November 4th, 1950. An gruff Lancastrian, he was a former Royal Engineer, who served in the Falklands War, before passing selection a year later, and then serving in the Gulf War.  
Thus, his Royal Engineer expertise served him well during the demolitions course, it had served him well in the Falklands and it had served him well whenever he was needed to lay waste to a SCUD missile. Now everyone was hoping that his expertise would serve them well in this mission.  
Before they had gotten wheels-up for the mission, Henry had lamented on that he hoped that this mission wouldn't last into Christmas Eve, as he had been looking forward to spending time with his three children, who he did not get to see often due to his divorce with his wife Wendy, three years ago.

Corporal Gideon Kennedy from London (who just simply preferred to be referred to as Gideon), had only joined the Regiment two years ago, but was showing considerable promise already, given that he received a promotion a few months ago.  
Prior to passing Selection, he had been a Sergeant in the Royal Logistics Corps (and before that, the Royal Corps of Transport), which made him the butt of a few good-humoured jokes of being a 'Trogg' from his mates and fellow colleagues in the Regiment.  
In fact, Gideon performed extremely well on the sniper course, and it was for that reason that he was picked for this mission.  
And despite the reservations of Price and Finch, MacMillan was confident in Gideon's ability and skill in accomplishing this mission.

"Alright everyone, Operation Baseplate is to commence immediately. Prepare yourselves for the jump, we'll be approaching the drop zone in around 6 minutes".

* * *

 _17 hours earlier, Hickam Air Force Base, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii_...

In a small section of an hangar appropriated for the team, Lieutenant Price was sitting along with MacMillan, Finch and Gideon, while an man in plainclothes, who Price figured was MI6 due to his demeanour, briefed them on the mission that they were to undertake.

"Alright, the mission, is Operation Baseplate, the assassination of Imran Zakhaev. You may now open the file on Imran Zakhaev".

In the four men's hands, were files, which were sealed by a band labelled 'TOP SECRET', and soon, everyone opened them.

Price, once he opened his file, began to read through it.

Born on 21st March, 1947, in Atyrau in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Imran Damirovich Zakhaev was a former Lieutenant General in the Soviet Army, who served under General Nikita Dragovich of the Soviet's special weapon projects division.  
But after Nikita Dragovich's mysterious death in 1989, Zakhaev had left the Soviet Army and became a black market arms dealer, who had popped up on MI6's radar a few years later, when they noticed that Zakhaev had been selling armaments and weapons to armed groups across the world, in exchange for cash. However, very recently, only one event had gotten MI6 concerned, in that Zakhaev had been making very frequent transits to Chernobyl over the last five months, where he was exchanging salvaged spent fuel rods and some nuclear material safe enough to handle, for cash.

Now Price understood the importance of their mission.  
 _Cash for spent fuel rods, eh? Quite a recipe for destruction_...

"GCHQ have been intercepting transmissions from Zakhaev and his group, who have taken over an airfield and a nearby ghost town in the Kamchatka Peninsular. Apparently, Zakhaev's made a visit to Chernobyl and is flying from the Ukraine to the airfield. His estimated date of arrival, is around 1947 hours on the 20th of December. We need you to go in and take out Zakhaev. His activities cannot be allowed to continue. Do you have any questions?"

Finch held his hand up, and when he was given permission to speak, asked "Recommended points of entry?"  
"If you decide for an airdrop, your aircraft cannot overfly Russian sovereign airspace. So it'll have to be a HAHO jump. And you do have a choice of entering via the water, but you'll need to acquire the services of a submarine with a Dry Deck Shelter and a SEAL Delivery Vehicle, and our recommended points of entry for such an insertion, are much further away from the target area than the HAHO jump's landing zone. Either way, it's your choice. Any other questions?"

Price was the next to ask, "What sort of resistance can we expect if we get into contact?"  
"Zakhaev's being hiring a lot of mercenaries from all over the former Soviet states, like the Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as the former East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Cuba and Angola. He's also acquired an arsenal of tanks, IFVs and helicopters. T-72s, BMP-1s, BTR-80s, Shilkas, Hips, Hinds and Havocs, you name it, he's probably got it. So, you'll be up against a small army essentially".

Gideon then asked, "How motivated and skilled are these mercenaries?"  
"Well, from we've been able to gather, our intelligence observes that they are well equipped, but not heavily paid much, so we reckon some bad morale and them slackening off in their duties. You should be able to get through them easily enough, despite their heavy armaments".

Mac was disconcerted about how the MI6 officer just seemed to wave off the mercenaries' skill and fighting capability, but held his silence, vowing to himself to not get caught out by these mercenaries.  
And given that Price, Finch and Gideon all shared glances with him, Mac wasn't alone in this way of thinking.

Once the briefing was done, the man from MI6 then said, "So, gentlemen, shall I leave it to you to plan the mission out?"

MacMillan nodded his head, "We'll be alright, mate. We've got this".

A smile, "Excellent! Then, I'll see you in a few hours before wheels up!"

As he left, the 4 man began crowding around the map, as they began 'a Chinese parliament', sharing their thoughts and expertise to plan the mission out.

* * *

As the loadmasters were bringing over their parachutes, Lieutenant Price analysed every member of the patrol, the weapons and equipment that they were going to bring along.

Price himself, carried an M16A2 with an M203 grenade launcher and a Browning Hi-Power, while Captain MacMillan carried a Colt Commando and a Browning Hi-Power and Gideon carried an M16A2, and a SiG Sauer P226.  
Finch meanwhile, was the only one who carried an FN Minimi, while his sidearm was a Browning Hi-Power.

As the mission required the use of a sniper, Gideon carried the patrol's only L118A1.  
All members of the patrol were trained snipers, so when it came to being a sniper/spotter team, Price would take the role of sniper, whilst MacMillan would take the role of spotter. When it was Finch and Gideon's turn, Gideon would be the sniper, whilst Finch would take the role of spotter, for which, they would use a spotting scope.

Each member of the patrol, except for Finch who carried an LAW 80, had a 66mm M72 LAW, an assortment of L2A1 hand grenades, L83 smoke grenades and L84 white phosphorus grenades, and they also carried suppressors for their weapons and a combat knife.  
As for ammunition, Price, Mac and Gideon carried 5 30-round magazines in addition to the magazine already in their weapons, whilst Price also carried around 5 rounds of M203 grenade launcher ammunition and Finch had around 6 200-round box magazines for his Minimi.

Satisfied with their weaponry, Price soon headed over to the loadmasters, who had their parachute rigs.

Even though the loadmasters were qualified riggers and had personally verified the parachute rigs were cleared to jump, each member of the patrol felt more assured of checking over their own rigs themselves.  
So Mac, Price, Finch and Gideon checked their rigs, and saw that everything was in place, their reserve chutes were primed and ready, and the chutes were not going to fail on them.  
Then once they were done, they put on their rigs, and then started preparing the rest of their kit.

For the jump, each member of the patrol had a helmet, with an oxygen mask attached to an oxygen bottle due to performing a HAHO jump at around 35,000 ft.  
And had goggles for their eyes, along with throat microphones attached to their neck, to allow them to speak amongst themselves whilst in the air, as well as on the ground.

As Lieutenant Price slipped on his gloves that would protect his hands from frostbite whilst in the air, he mentally recalled all the kit that they'd be taking down with them along with their bergens and webbing (which would be attached to the outside of their bergens, very firmly secured).

There were night vision devices for themselves (to be attached to their weapons), and for the sniper rifle, along with spare batteries for the night vision devices and the radio which all members of the patrol carried with them.

Various hats (Price had his bonnie hat, while Mac had his baseball cap, Finch and Gideon had their beanie hats), along with a shemagh and scrim scarf, and spare clothing along with spare pants and socks.

Even though they had looked at satellite photos of the target area, they still had a model kit, so that when they arrived at their assigned Lying Up Positions and Observation Posts, they would make a scale model of the area and from there, plan out the whole mission whilst at the target area, in case of unexpected developments on site. It contained stuff like ribbons, to indicate roads or rivers, card, for the purpose of marking anything noteworthy, and stones, for indicating buildings, which would be also backed up with the materials at hand from the area itself to make an accurate picture of the target area's landscape.

Gideon carried an Tacsat long range communications radio, whilst Mac and Price carried a TACBE, while all members of the patrol carried an GPS, which even though they regarded as an excellent useful tool, they still carried with them a map in a waterproof map case along with a compass.

Demolitions, which the patrol's demolitions expert, Finch, would be solely carrying, which included around six blocks of C4, and four M18 Claymores.

Each member of the patrol carried a med-kit with them and was medically trained, in case they sustained any injuries at all during the mission.

To construct their Observation Posts and Lying Up Positions, every member of the patrol had a folding shovel, along with sandbags. As they were exercising a hard routine, their body waste must be packed away, leaving no traces of their presence, so they would be carrying plastic bags to bag up their body waste, which would then be put away in the bergens.  
They'd also be bringing chicken wire, to construct the 'roof' of their LUP.

Each member of the patrol's rations' main meals were varied from each person, but they still all carried biscuits, chocolate mix, whitener for tea and coffee, and a fork in addition to a single canteen filled with water. Since the patrol would be exercising a hard routine during the mission, they would not be cooking, thus they'd have to eat the rations cold.

Several Bungee cords, for the purpose of strapping additional stuff onto the bergen and for holding up their two bashas, which would be used to provide cover from the elements at their LUP.  
They would also bring woodland camouflage wrapping for the sniper rifle and the spotting scope, and tape for the purpose of hiding the sunlight glare from the lens of the scope of the rifle and the spotting scope.

As a Notepad and Pencil would be too time consuming, the spotter would be using a personal recorder, to record his findings. But Gideon still carried a notepad and pencil with him, 'just to be thorough', Gideon had said to Price, who accepted the explanation without asking him to explain it further.

Along with their personal torches, they would have Glowsticks to help with illumination.

Price himself also carried a wire saw (that in addition to sawing off branches or wood, could be used as a garrotte if need be), a striker and flint (a emergency alternative to matches that Finch carried), and condoms, for the purpose of collecting water from rivers or from rain.

Then Price was brought out of his thoughts when a shout came, "One minute!"

Turning his attention back to the present, Price soon headed towards the rear door of the Galaxy, where Mac, Finch and Gideon were awaiting, with their fully loaded bergens (with the webbing secured on them as well) on the back of their legs.  
Price slipped on his bergen (with his webbing secured on as well) on the back of his legs and after he checked that it would not slip off, they soon moved on to the final check before they depressurised.  
Putting on their oxygen masks, they checked the seal of the mask, ensuring that it wouldn't leak.  
Then after checking the bottles and the dials, they were all set and ready to drop.

After the hold's lights suddenly turned red, the loadmasters put on their own oxygen masks, and then Price felt the whole plane being depressurised.  
The temperature immediately plummeted and all the members of the patrol could hear, was their own breathing.

And soon enough, Mac's voice came through, " _Alright, radio check. Over_ ".  
"Price here. Reading you loud and clear".  
Finch's voice was next, " _I hear you, Captain_ ".  
Then came Gideon's, " _Gideon here. I hear you_ ".  
" _Excellent. Now, get ready. They're gonna open the door_ ".

True to Mac's word, the rear cargo doors of the Galaxy started opening and all members of the patrol started creeping towards the edge.

Price looked out, 35,000 feet in the air, to see complete darkness (taking care not to look at any sort of faraway lights at all, not that there likely to be any, this far out, but he was taking no chances).  
And once Finch threw himself from the ramp, and Gideon followed suite, Price pulled his head back, and pushed himself forward over the edge of the ramp, toppling himself out of the plane.

* * *

As soon as Price left the aircraft, he straightened his back and kept his head back, to keep a stable position.  
After checking for a brief moment that the air above him was clear and Mac was giving him enough space to release his parachute, he pulled the cord to release his parachute, and felt a quick deceleration as quickly as he heard the crack of the canopy as it grabbed the air.

Quickly checking to see if the lines were not snagged, caught or tangled, Price was reassured as he grabbed the toggles and started manoeuvring himself to find Finch and Gideon to start completing the canopy formation.  
And soon, began looking for Finch and Gideon, as he set about to complete the stack formation that they had planned to do, in order to keep close together whilst they descended for roughly around 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Due to Finch carrying the heaviest load, he was the bottom of the stack, while Gideon had already docked himself to Finch.  
Then Price announced to Gideon and Finch that he was coming in. After that, he docked himself to Gideon, then Mac announced himself and docked himself to Price, creating a perfect stack.

* * *

The journey down to the DZ was longer than they anticipated, taking up to two hours, twenty minutes instead of ten minutes, but that didn't stop them from getting complacent as they approached the DZ.

Price grasped the toggles in readiness as he awaited Mac's signal.  
Then Mac announced, " _Alright, we're coming in! Break formation!_ "

And soon the stack broke away, four individuals on their parachutes heading for a site to land of their choice.

Price saw what looked liked a good area to set down, and got a cord that was attached to his rig, attached to his bergen, ready to release it onto the ground.  
Of course, he didn't want to release too early, otherwise it would result in him losing control, but he didn't want to do it too late, as there was vital equipment and essentials in the bergen.

When the time was right, he slipped the bergen off his legs, and it set down onto the ground gently.  
Then Price landed on the ground, mindful of his legs as one wrong move could result in a broken leg or worse (which would not bare well for the mission).

As soon as he was on the ground, Price attended to his parachute, gathering it up, and then heading towards a nearby section of woods (after also getting his bergen).  
Once in there, he slipped off his rig, his helmet, his oxygen mask and bottles, and his thermals, then scanned the area for a good long while, before he started the process of burying the rig, the helmet, the oxygen mask and bottles, the thermals and the parachute.

After that was done, Price got his camouflage cream out and started applying it to his face, neck, and the top of his wrists (since he was wearing gloves that made covering his hands unnecessary), to break up the shine of his face.  
Then he got out his bonnie hat and slipped it on, before slipping on a night vision device for his M16 and then slipped on a suppressor over the barrel (doing the same to his Browning Hi-Power).

Once he was finished, Lieutenant John Price slung his bergen across his back and started heading out, hoping to meet up with the rest of the patrol.

* * *

After several minutes of navigating through the dark silently, five slaps of a hand on metal caught Price's attention, near the edge of another section of woods.

The pre-agreed signal amongst the patrol, slapping a hand alongside their 30-round magazines five times, which meant a member of the patrol was nearby.

Neither the less, Price was cautious as he headed over, M16 to his shoulder, before a familiar voice whispered out ahead of him, "Oh please put the weapon down, Leftenant Price. You're making this old Scot nervous".

Reassured at Mac's light-hearted comment, Price slightly lowered his weapon as he then saw Captain MacMillan with his suppressed Colt Commando at his side, by a tree.

"Good to see you two, Mac. Have you seen Henry? Or Gideon?"  
"Nope". Mac didn't need to ask if Price had seen them in return, as he already knew the answer to that, so he settled for, "How was your trip?"  
"Uneventful".

Mac and Price awaited for a while for around 9 minutes, before Price saw them through his night vision device.  
"Psst, Mac, I see them".

Immediately, his mentor used the night vision device on his Colt Commando to see what his protege was seeing, and when Finch and Gideon were close enough, Mac gave the signal.  
Finch and Gideon soon reunited with Mac and Price, and then, Mac communicated with Hereford via Gideon's Tacsat.

"Beacon, this is Alpha Six Zero Actual. Do you copy over?"  
No response, so Mac tried again, until he got a response.  
" _Alpha Six Zero Actual, this is Beacon. Reading you Lima Charlie. Over_ ".

"Roger, Beacon. Be advised, Alpha Six Zero has boots on the ground. Commencing TAB to target area. Operation Baseplate is underway. Interrogative, any new information at this time?"  
A pause before, " _Negative, Alpha Six Zero Actual. Proceed to target. Beacon out_ ".

And with that ended, Captain MacMillan turned to his patrol, saying simply, "Alright, let's move out. Leftenant Price, you're on point".

* * *

 **And thus, comes the start of the first story of my Task Force 141 series, which is a Call of Duty/Medal of Honor crossover series.**  
 **While it may set in an AU Modern Warfare timeline, it does however contain elements from the Black Ops, Ghosts and Advanced Warfare timelines.**  
 **And yes, the Medal of Honor, that I'm speaking of, are the Medal of Honor (2010) and Medal of Honor: Warfighter games. Thus some characters, most notably Tier One operators, from those games will be making appearances in later stories.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can and see you next time!**

 **Update 10/12/17: Added a few more details on Gideon and Henry's backstory.**


	2. Tabbing

**Disclaimer: Call of Duty does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Activision.**

* * *

 _Somewhere in the Kamchatka Peninsular, Russian Federation_.  
 _16th December, 1996_.

With his scanning eyes ever-alert for any potential encounter, Lieutenant John Price continued his firm grip on his M16A2 as he then turned his head to the right, after looking over to the left for a while.

Taking care on how he walked through the ground, in the night, mindful to not accidentally snap a twig, Price observed behind him Finch, Mac and Gideon.

Finch was scanning from left to right with his Minimi (which held a suppressor on the barrel), while Mac helped guide the patrol straight to their designated target.  
Gideon, who was at the Tail-End Charlie position, did a good job at occasionally looking behind him to check for anyone coming up from behind, as well as keeping track of the patrol and his position within the patrol.

 _Not bad. I expect to see a great future within the Regiment for Gideon_ , Price thought.

Then, as the patrol got closer to a road-trail, Mac stopped the patrol, as the road started to get brighter.  
 _Headlamps. From a vehicle_ , Price concluded.

Further proof was when they could hear the distinctive noise of a UAZ-469 coming up the road towards them, and thus Mac had the sense to get everyone further back, to not let the headlamps pick them up by the edge of the road.

As the patrol laid down amongst the grass, they awaited the jeep and hoped that it would pass them.

Then, when the headlamps passed over them, making them squint their eyes at it's brightness, they soon heard the jeep pulling off into gravel, indicating that the vehicle was pulling over to the side.  
And they could hear the doors of the jeep opening, and slamming shut, indicating that the occupants were leaving the vehicle.

Taking a look, Price saw through his night vision device around four people in Russian military camouflage, but he knew that these were not Russian soldiers.

For one thing, they were too well equipped for Russian squaddies, as they were carrying not only AKMs, but an RPG-7 with spare rounds and an RPD light machine gun, and when they were close enough, Price could hear them speaking in German and Spanish, but with distinct accents that indicated where they came from.

 _Must be the East German and Cuban mercenaries the intelligence had mentioned_ , Price reckoned, after hearing two of them, speaking in a Cuban accent, the other in a particular German dialect that came from the former East Germany (During his time serving in West Germany, as well as East Germany, Price knew much about the different German dialects enough to tell them apart).

As the four mercenaries headed towards them, Price slowly crawled back, as did Finch, Mac and Gideon.

Then Mac whispered in his comms to Price, " _Alright, Leftenant, we're not going to get past them. We'll need to eliminate them, and get them out of sight. Get your weapon ready. Gideon'll have the one on the right, me and Finch will get the middle and you'll get the one on the right_ ".

Taking the safety catch off his weapon and flicking over to the 3-round burst setting, Price adjusted his aim, as he aligned his M16A2 at the mercenary on the right, who was wielding an AKM in his hands.

Mac's voice whispered into his ears, " _Steady..., Steady..._ ", and Price put his index finger over the trigger as he knew it was time to take them down.

Then Mac took his shot, the mercenary with the RPD in his hands taking three shots to the neck, resulting in blood gushing and spurting right out of the throat as he dropped dead before he hit the floor.  
Price was next and he squeezed the trigger, three shots striking the mercenary in the head.

Then Gideon and Finch took the other two out simultaneously, and before long, all the mercenaries were dead.

With this, everyone set out to hide the bodies, and Price, Mac, Finch and Gideon got each one, dragging the bodies over to a nearby edge of a hilltop, before dropping them down.  
Not exactly a textbook way, but it'd have to do.

With this done and out of the way, Price and Gideon went over to the jeep and checked it all over, before Gideon opened the door and pulled the key, turning the engine off.

Pocketing the keys, Gideon received only a raised eyebrow from Price, before Gideon offered his explanation for his action, "You'll never know when an escape vehicle might come in handy, Leftenant", before adding after a pause, "Just in case".

* * *

After leaving the jeep, the patrol kept on advancing, but being more mindful to avoid roads.

However, even leaving the roads did not mean that the area was devoid of enemy contact, as they soon discovered when they heard the distinctive sound of an Mil Mi-17 Hip and it's twin Klimov turbine engines powering it's large rotors, passing by with a searchlight scanning the entire area.

Having hit the floor, everyone in the patrol prayed for the helicopter to not shine it's searchlight over to them.  
The Hip kept hovering as it shined it's searchlight in an opposite direction, and everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for it to move on.  
Then, as it left, everyone left out a sigh of relief.

Mac was the first to get up.

" _Alright, everyone, let's get a move on before he decides to change his mind and double back. Let's move_ ".

Price, Finch and Gideon got up and continued on, hoping that their three-day TAB would be uneventful from then on.

* * *

On the evening of the 19th of December, the patrol reached the forest, which overlooked the airfield where Imran Zakhaev would be arriving.

Luckily for them, they did not encounter any more enemy contacts, pass a few close encounters with patrolling mercenaries, whom they had to let them pass, or risk the mission being compromised.

Within the forest itself, Mac looked around, before he set down his bergen along one of the trees, as did Price, Finch and Gideon.  
Then, they gathered around as Mac issued his instructions.  
"Alright, let's set up the LUPs and OPs. Then we can get comfy. It's going to be a while before we get anything close to a bed".

Then, they got out their folding shovels and started digging.

* * *

 **And thus, our patrol will have to wait for Zakhaev for a while. In the meantime, all they'll be having to do, is gather intelligence while they wait.**

 **I had initially planned for this chapter to include much more stuff with taking out enemy contacts, but I reckoned that this was a bit unrealistic, as if too many were being brought down, it'd risk compromising the mission.**  
 **Thus, the patrol's mission isn't to take down mercenaries here, it's to take down Imran Zakhaev, so the case with the mercenaries coming towards them and being forced to eliminate them, was more of a last resort case than anything else.**  
 **And plus, I guess you didn't want me to write a whole bunch of filler of four soldiers taking three days to tab towards the target area.**

 **Oh, and in case anyone is not in the know of British Army slang, Tab means Tactical Advance to Battle, as in trekking long distances in full kit. The Royal Marines call this Yomp, as popularised during the Falklands War.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**


	3. Observation

**Disclaimer: Call of Duty does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Activision.**

* * *

 _Somewhere in the Kamchatka Peninsular, Russian Federation_.  
 _22nd December, 1996_.

They had spent, an evening and two full 24-hour days, watching and waiting for the arrival of their target, at the airfield that was overlooked by the forest that they were residing in.

Deep within the forest, 2 meters from the edge, were their Lying Up Positions.  
In the space between some trees, the two LUPs were mainly comprised of a scrape that had been lined with grass to keep it dry, while the surface layer of turf that initially formed the LUP had been sliced away and put to one side, to be used for their camouflage material, and the 'roof' had been constructed with chicken wire that had grass and surrounding vegetation stuffed in the holes.  
Meanwhile, a set of bashas were propped up against some trees, to provide rain cover for their bergens, which were much too big for the LUPs.

The Observation Posts, meanwhile, were on the very edge of the forest, and had been dug very deep, to accommodate Finch's 6"2' height.  
And to ensure absolute undetection, each position at the OP had foliage set up to enable each member of the patrol (who would be camouflaged with foliage of their own to break up their silhouette) to blend in.

Right now, it was Finch and Gideon's turn to take the positions at the OP, and Finch handled the spotting scope, whilst Gideon handled the L118 sniper rifle.  
They also had the night vision device for the sniper rifle (the spotting scope did have a night vision setting), since their shift would last up till one past midnight, Gideon's notepad and pencil, a personal recorder, a waterproof map case and a taped-up glowstick, along with one of their rations for them to have a bite to eat, and their canteens of water.

It had been a very interesting few days, monitoring the airfield.

On the first full day, of monitoring the airfield, they noticed that the mercenaries were actually much more skilled and disciplined than intelligence realised, as they noticed that despite their second-hand Russian military kit being a bit lacklustre, their uniforms were very immaculate and their weapons were well maintained, and more importantly, their posture and body language seemed to display no signs of slacking off. And plus, despite the biting-cold winds of the winter season being ever present, the mercenaries were still ever vigilant and did not let the cold get in the way of their duties.  
This had worried the patrol greatly, as they cursed intelligence for dropping the ball on this, and they knew that their job would get a lot harder the moment that they'd be compromised.  
However, Mac had stepped in and stated that while the mercenaries would be a potential problem, the fact of the matter was that they still had a mission to accomplish, if they all did it right.

* * *

The next morning, it was Price's shift and he was handling the sniper rifle, whilst Mac was using the spotting scope.

As daylight broke, Price put away the sniper rifle's night vision device, before leaning onto the rifle to look down through the scope at the airfield, preparing for another day of sitting in an OP observing their target whilst trying to keep himself warm.

Through the scope, Price watched as mercenaries from all over the globe, did their daily routine, whilst an massive collection of Soviet military vehicles and helicopters (UAZ-469 jeeps, Ural-375, Ural-4320, ZIL-131 and GAZ-66 trucks, T-55, T-62, T-72 and PT-76 tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, BTR-60, BTR-70 and BTR-80 armoured personnel cars, BRDM-2 armoured cars, ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" self propelled anti-air guns, a large force of Mi-17s and Mi-24s, and a couple of Mi-28s) moved about from place to place.

But as his eyes took in the details of the airfield that was displayed through his scope, Price's thoughts suddenly drifted back to his wife, Andrea, who was undoubtably keeping herself busy with the other wives at Hereford, getting ready for the Christmas celebrations.  
Price, before he left with Mac and the patrol to prepare for Operation Baseplate, smiled as his mind drifted back to the smile on Andrea's face when he revealed the surprise that he had brought a Christmas tree for her, mere one day before he left.

Then, Price wondered, not for the first time, on what the gender was for their unborn child (they had agreed to keep it a surprise).  
Price had said to Andrea that he'd love the child regardless of being a boy or a girl, but despite that, Price was secretly hoping for a boy.

Then Mac's voice broke him out of his thoughts.  
"Psst, John. John. Increased activity on airfield".

Perking up at this, Price looked through the scope and saw that every one of the mercenaries was now getting more focused than usual, and vehicles were moving left to right, taking up defensive positions around the airstrip.  
Now Price got very interested, as this meant that someone important was inbound by airplane.

Then they heard it.

Airplane engines.

* * *

"Yuri, wake up".

Opening his eyes, Yuri Mikhailovich Vatutin saw his friend, Vladimir Romanovich Makarov, sitting in the front passenger seat of the UAZ-469, before turning in his seat to face Yuri.

"Morning to you two, Vladimir Romanovich. What's going on?"  
"Zakhaev's arriving now. We better head to the airstrip and await him there".

At this, Yuri started awakening further and straightening up, as Vladimir got out of the passenger seat and into the driver's seat. And true enough, an airplane, more specifically an Antonov An-2, was heading straight for the airstrip.

Yuri and Makarov were close friends, ever since Makarov's dismissal from the military.  
He had met Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz soldier himself, in a bar in Volgograd, where they bonded over their war experiences in Chechnya, their grievances over the current state of Russia, their disillusionment over the lost prestige of Russia and the incompetent leadership of their beloved Motherland.  
Yuri had lamented that someone ought to able to take a stand against what had become of Russia now, and Vladimir's interest in this soldier had peaked so much, that he offered him a proposition.  
After asking what was Vladimir proposing, Yuri got his answer when Makarov told him that after his own dismissal from the military, he had met a man who shared the same vision, and was in the first steps of 'taking a stand'.  
The ex-Spetsnaz soldier asked who was this very person, and Makarov said that his name was Imran Zakhaev, before telling him that he would like for Yuri to serve alongside him in this new movement.

It had been a few moments, but Yuri had accepted Vladimir's offer and thus, Yuri and Vladimir became very close friends as they did work for Zakhaev's movement.  
 _And to think that it was only three years ago, it still feels like yesterday_ , thought Yuri.

As Makarov turned the keys, turning on the engine, and then drove off, heading for the airstrip, Yuri asked his friend, "So, Vladimir, do you really think Zakhaev's trips to Pripyat will help the movement in any way?"  
Vladimir smiled, "Absolutely, my friend. The deals he has made, will have generated many millions for the cause. And with that money, the movement will grow and build until we can arise to become the dominant power in all of Russia".

* * *

On board the Antonov An-2 that was about to make it's landing at the airfield, Imran Damirovich Zakhaev smiled as he looked out of the window, at the airfield where many of his associates, people who have been promised a place in the upcoming movement he had planned.

There was Vladimir Makarov, his protege, whom he had heard was being called 'Zakhaev's Shadow', along with Makarov's close friend, ex-Spetsnaz soldier Yuri Vatutin.

Then, Anatoly Gennadyevich Obukhovsky, a former Russian Airborne Colonel who was responsible for hiring the mercenaries that were now under their allegiance, as well as commanding them, along with former Cuban Colonel Santiago Machuca, a veteran of the Ogaden War, as well as Angola, Nicaragua and El Salvador, who was forced into retirement after the Cuban Special Period in 1989, and former Stasi agent Helmuth Peucker, an acquaintance of Machuca, who fled East Germany after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Viktor Khristenko, who might not have much in the way of a military background, but did have a shrewd business mind, which Zakhaev reckoned, would be helpful in achieving funds from abroad for the movement in future.

His very own personal friend, Lev Kravchenko, who had served with him under the leadership of their shared mentor, General Nikita Dragovich.

And then his own son and heir, Viktor Imranovich Zakhaev.  
"Father".  
Turning to look at his son, upon hearing his voice, Imran gave a rare genuine smile for his flesh and blood before asking, "Viktor, I trust there are no problems here when I was gone?"  
Viktor gave off a rare smile as well to his father, "No whatsoever father. It is great to see you back".  
"And you as well, my son".

Soon, they shared a embrace, with Imran whispering "I missed you Viktor", to which Viktor responded that he missed his father too, before they both let go of the embrace.

Then, Vladimir Makarov then spoke up, asking, "How was your trip to Pripyat, Imran Damirovich? Did you accomplish the deal?"  
"Very well, thank you Vladimir. And yes, despite it taking longer than I hoped, they eventually came around to the price I set. Not that they had any choice!"

And soon, Imran and Vladimir shared a laugh, at the agreement that whenever Zakhaev traded spent fuel rods for cash at Pripyat, he always held the advantage, and no one could ever take that advantage for themselves.

Then Imran spotted his son and heir, Viktor, glaring at Vladimir.  
He sighed, knowing that his own son and heir, always held a rivalry with his protege, ever since Zakhaev started mentoring the ex-Spetsnaz officer.  
And as always, he had to intervene between them to try and put aside what he felt, was a petty rivalry.

So, he turned and addressed the two of them, "My son, my friend, please put your petty rivalry to one side. We have much more important matters at hand to discuss".

* * *

"Hmmmm, looks like a perfect family reunion down there".

Price murmured in agreement, as he watched Imran Zakhaev, whom he and Mac had confirmed the identity due to their memorising photographs of Imran Zakhaev and his associates, conversing with said associates like old mates meeting and about to have a drink in the local pub.

Now, it was a matter of seeing if he could obtain the shot.  
However, the problem was that the wind was blowing, and if Price was not careful, he could miss the target.  
Mac had given him the call of either compensating for the wind, or waiting it out, but did warn him that Zakhaev might leave before it died down.

As Price kept a look on Zakhaev, who was still conversing with his associates, Mac was doing the same, while keeping an eye on a orange windsock at the airstrip that served as an indicator of the wind's strength and direction.

Then all a sudden, their scopes were filled up with a Mi-17 blocking the view.  
Price cursed, "Argh! Where the bloody hell did he come from!?"

Mac however, was a bit more calm, "Patience, laddie. Patience. Wait for a clear shot".

It took a while, as the Hip seemed to hover, and Price was initially worried that the helicopter was going to discover them if they were not careful, but his fears were unfounded as the helicopter moved on.

Soon, they had Zakhaev, now displaying a suitcase full of money to his associates, still where he was.  
And still, there was no sign of any change with the wind's speed and direction.

His shot was briefly broken, when a T-62 tank drove in front of his view of Zakhaev, only to stop. Then a few minutes later, the tank left and Price kept the sniper rifle on the target.

Then, Mac urgently whispered as he saw the orange windsock fall down limp,  
"It's now or never. Take the shot, John!"

Adjusting his rifle to be certain he'd hit the target, Price's finger then squeezed the trigger, and the 7.62x51mm round immediately left the barrel and the suppressor, traveling at around 2,418 yards at the intended target.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger!**

 **Yeah, I just couldn't resist. Plus, I don't intend on Operation Baseplate to just be a carbon copy of All Ghillied Up and One-Shot, One Kill. So there might be a very slight difference on how the mission goes down.**

 **What that slight difference is, well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!  
**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**

 **Update (10/11/17): Just cleaned up some dialogue, added a few lines as well.** **  
**


	4. Escape & Evade

**Disclaimer: Call of Duty does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Activision.**

* * *

 _An airfield in the Kamchatka Peninsular, Russian Federation_.  
 _22nd December, 1996_.

Imran Zakhaev closed the briefcase, full of approximately 1,000,000 American dollars, give or take, before saying to his associates, "And so, with the recent transactions, this brings up our budget to around near the 5 billion that we need to build our movement..."

Then suddenly, everyone ducked and dove for cover after a bullet gave off a zipping sound as it passed the group, before it impacted the ground and caused a ricochet that thankfully did not harm anybody.

Zakhaev soon headed straight for a UAZ-469 jeep, to get himself into cover.  
But then, he noticed that another bullet hit quite close to him, and it made him realise that he was the target.

As soon as Zakhaev got into cover, he then shouted, "Someone is trying to kill me! Hunt them down! Hunt them down and terminate them! Wipe them out! SHOW NO MERCY!"

* * *

Miles away, overlooking the airstrip, Price cursed himself as he pulled back the bolt-action and the spent cartridge case from the second round he fired was expelled from the chamber of the L118A1.

The Captain also cursed under his breath, but had the control to get himself back on focus, and tell Price, "Keep calm, Leftenant, don't break cover. They haven't spotted us".

Back at the LUP, Finch and Gideon were preparing to move, only for MacMillan to come onto the radio to tell them to just fetch the bergens and get ready for the order to move.  
They both acknowledged the order, and did as expected of them, allowing Mac and Price to focus on the commotion ahead of them.

After firing off another round, to keep them all pinned down by the vehicles, Price then saw that the Antonov An-2 on the airfield was powering up it's engines, and the propellors were spinning.

MacMillan saw it too, "That plane's about to take off. Take out the engine, it'll stop Zakhaev from escaping".  
"I'm on it".

Then adjusting the L118 to aim at the engine of the An-2 (compensating for wind speed and direction), as Price found that it was well beyond the 2,418 yards, and close to 2,550 yards, he began going through the motions of getting ready for the shot, exhaling and inhaling, before he then put his finger on the trigger and squeezed it.

The fourth round fired, hit it's target well and true, penetrating through the cowling and into the vital mechanics of the nine cylinder, air-cooled, radical Shvetsov ASh-62 aircraft engine.  
And immediately, the round had already taken out vital mechanics within the engine before it came to a stop right at the other end of the cowling, but the damage had already been done and fuel was already spilling all within the engine.

Yuri and Makarov took cover, as did Zakhaev and the others, as the engine started spilling out fire, and leaking fuel, before the fuel ignited from a spark emitted from the wrecked engine, and the entire plane exploded, sending shrapnel flying through the air and a big cloud of flames and black smoke erupting high up.

Evidently still pinned down by the sniper, Makarov immediately took action, contacting a helicopter for support.  
"Grifon Four, we have a sniper team pinning us down. We need you to flush them out. They are located around..."

* * *

"Whoa, nice shot Leftenant, you must have struck a fuel line at least. Well done, laddie".

Price did not have time to offer a thanks to Mac, as they soon found that an Mi-28 Havoc was now on an approach vector right towards their OP. And it was loaded with weapons to bear.  
"Ah, shit, they're onto us! Get the LAW 80 and take it out".

Price nodded and set aside the sniper rifle, before contacting Finch and telling him to bring over the LAW 80.  
Soon, the Lancastrian crawled over to a safe distance, before whispering into his throat microphones to Price, that he was passing over the LAW 80.

With this warning in mind, Price was prepared when Finch tossed over the LAW 80 to him, and thus, once Price got it, he then began the various stages of setting up the weapon.  
First, Price removed the large protective end caps, on both ends of the launcher, before extending the tube of the launcher, which automatically armed the rocket within it.  
Then, he placed the weapon's shoulder rest onto his right shoulder, and brought up the optical sight that allowed him to sight the target and aim the weapon.  
Even though he knew that the LAW 80 had a integrated spotting rifle with tracer ammunition, Price did not want to draw attention to them before he fired, so he just aimed the sight onto the Havoc, knowing that it was coming within 500 meters, the maximum range for the weapon.

Before he fired, Price announced, "Target sighted!", to which Mac told him that the back blast was clear.

Acknowledging this, Price then shouted, "Rocket out!", then pressed the trigger, upon which the rocket, with an High-Explosive Anti-Tank shaped charge warhead, propelled itself out of the launcher and towards the target.

The rocket slammed right into the right side of the Havoc, just above the right stub wing, and the pylons with it's payload of rockets and missiles. Those same rockets and missiles exploded, and the combined explosions resulted in the Havoc's right side turboshaft engine to fail completely.  
Pretty soon, the helicopter was trailing smoke and having trouble keeping itself in the air, so it was pretty fortunate for Price and Mac that the Havoc pilots decided to take no chances and leave straight afterwards.

MacMillan then sensed that they overstayed their welcome.  
"Alright, Leftenant, they'll definitely know exactly where we are. Let's go, we've outstayed our welcome".

With this, Price threw away the LAW 80 towards the forest, before getting the sniper rifle, gingerly crawling out of his OP and crawling to the LUP as fast as he could, MacMillan doing the same.

Within the woods, at the LUP, Finch and Gideon already were waiting to go, with stuff all packed up into their bergens that had been slung around their backs.  
As MacMillan soon started to formulate a plan of action to get to their extraction point, which was around nine miles south-east of the town at the coastline, Price got himself two L2A2 fragmentation grenades and put one within the tube of the spent LAW 80, as well as on top of the sniper rifle, which was laying down on the ground.

A few seconds later, and the grenades exploded, destroying the weapons.

MacMillan nodded at Price, "Good thinking Leftenant. Now, we head to our extraction point", to which Price asked, "How are we managing that?"

The Captain brought out the map and started bringing Price up to speed, just like he told Finch and Gideon, "Roads and the hills will be swarming with mercenaries, so we need to go through the last place that they'll expect us to go through".  
Price immediately caught onto what Mac was planning, "We go through straight down into the town, and then make a break for the coast"

Mac nodded, before putting away his map, "Exactly. Now let's get a move on".

* * *

After a final cursory check to ensure that they would leave absolutely no traces of their presence at the LUP, MacMillan, Price, Finch and Gideon departed and set out for the town, where the enemy forces were probably not expecting them to go through.

Sprinting downhill, they made the outskirts of town in no time, and soon, the four of them ran from cover to cover, watching each other's backs, keeping an eye out for any enemy as snow crunched underneath their boots.

But as Gideon rounded the corner of one building, with Finch following from behind, the team made to sprint across a square towards another building, only for the crack of a sniper rifle to pierce right through the air, and a zipping sound to sing right near their ears, just seconds before Finch was struck in the right lower leg.

All time seemed to stop as Finch yelled and fell to the ground in agony and pain, and all three remaining members of the team started laying down covering fire at where they reckoned the sniper had shot from, a metal staircase on the outside of a building to their right.  
And their barrage of gunfire, struck gold when they saw a Dragunov sniper rifle fall out of a crouched man on the staircase, falling down onto a dumpster below with a loud clang.

As soon as the gunfire stopped, Gideon began dragging Finch back behind cover, and Price and Mac covered him.

Taking off Finch's bergen, before putting him against the wall, Gideon started to check over Finch's injury, seeing that the round went right through the Tibia, and exiting straight through the Soleus.  
This wasn't good, as Gideon could see that Finch was bleeding out on both entry and exit wounds, so he got his bergen and got out his personal medkit, getting out bandages scissors and pins, as well as medical gloves (which Gideon put on after taking his own gloves off, of course).

Then it was a matter of wiping any dirt or other foreign objects from the entry and exit wounds that could risk infecting it, before wrapping the bandage tight around the wounds, putting pressure on it to stop any more bleeding, before eventually finish wrapping it around, then cutting through the bandage with scissors to make an end, then using the pin to secure it.

However, the team soon noticed loud shouts in Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and various languages, which could only mean that the mercenaries were closing in on the town.  
Further proof of this showed itself in the form of vehicle engines that were roaring.  
So, inevitably, the team felt that it was time to move, and get out of here. Gideon elected to help carry Finch, to which Mac concurred and thus, Gideon had Finch put his right arm around Gideon.  
"You got me, right?"  
At Finch's gasping, pained-filled whisper, Gideon reassured him the best way he could manage, "Yeah, I got you. Just hold on, save your strength".

And while Gideon got Finch, Price meanwhile slung his M16 on his back, before he went over to Finch's Minimi and picked it up.  
Checking it over, he saw that it was undamaged (thankfully, after being thrown out of Finch's hands and onto the ground) and still fully loaded with ammunition, so he gripped the carrying handle of the Minimi, before bringing it into his hands and putting the weapon at the ready.

Mac asked Gideon and Finch if they were good to go.  
Upon receiving nods, Mac then asked Price the same, "You ready, Leftenant?"

"Ready, Mac".  
"Good. Now let's destroy our bergens".

Gideon shot up his head in surprise, and MacMillan explained, "We're not going to be able to move quickly enough with them, and we can't just leave them behind. Zakhaev's cronies will just find them. Get out what you need, stuff them in with you, and destroy the bergens with your grenades. Quick!"

And soon, Mac, Price and Gideon rummaged all through all four of the bergens for the stuff that they would need to take with them.

Once they had, they then put the grenades in the bergens, pulled out the pins and got away as fast as they could.

Luckily, the grenades went off without any of them getting caught in their blasts, and their bergens were now shredded and aflame.

* * *

The four grenades going off, had alerted the mercenaries, and on Zakhaev's order, they soon headed directly towards the ghost town, where they would surround it and flush out the assassins that tried to kill Zakhaev.  
Attempts to contact any of their forces within the town itself, were fruitless, as they received no answers to their queries, only static from their radios.

And against the advice of his son Viktor as well as Khristenko and Obukhovsky, Imran Zakhaev was clearly adamant to join the hunt, and watch the mercenaries dispatch the assassins personally.

So, amongst a convoy of trucks and jeeps, was a particular UAZ-469, that had Vladimir Makarov, Yuri Vatutin and Imran Zakhaev sat alongside and behind one of Obukhovsky's mercenaries, a Hungarian who was driving the jeep, in the passenger seats.

As they approached the town, Zakhaev watched as mercenaries on the back of the trucks, opened the tailgates, before jumping onto the hard gravel with their weapons in hand.  
Mercenaries in the BMPs exited through the rear doors, while those in BTRs exited through side-hatches and doors, and across the other side of the town, mercenaries on board Mi-17 Hip transport helicopters were dropped off, under the escort of Mi-24s with a full payload of weaponry.

This meant that the town was essentially surrounded, and in their heads, the assassins were trapped.

Back at Zakhaev's jeep, he could see Obukhovsky exiting his BRDM-2, and speaking via radio. A few minutes after checking in, then Obukhovsky issued the orders for them to move directly into the town and hunt down the assassins.

With this, Zakhaev got out of the jeep, and ordered Makarov, Vatutin and the Hungarian mercenary to accompany him. Immediately, as soon as he got out, Obukhovsky saw this and went over to him trying to dissuade him, "General, sir, I must protest. Those assassins were after you, and I urge you for your own safety to remain in your vehicle...", only for Zakhaev to dismiss his concerns, "Nonsense, Obukhovsky. I have every faith that every one of your esteemed mercenaries will protect me. After all, you did say that you brought the best, didn't you?"

Slightly cursing himself for his boast, Obukhovsky fell silent afterwards, as Zakhaev then got out his IMI Desert Eagle Mark I, and went to follow a group of mercenaries who were now searching a warehouse.  
Makarov, Vatutin and the Hungarian mercenary accompanied him, with their own weapons at the ready.

However, as they searched one side of the warehouse and found nothing, they were unaware that an ambush was already being set up.

Across the other side of the warehouse, MacMillan, Price and Gideon just could not believe their luck.  
It seemed like that things had gone pear-shaped when the mercenaries surrounded the ghost town, and that they would have to fight their way out. But it seemed that one bonus out of this situation was that Zakhaev himself had shown up.

Looks like that they'd have Zakhaev after all.

"Ready, Leftenant? We're only gonna get one shot of this".  
"Ready, Mac".

Nodding his head, MacMillan then waited for the other mercenaries to get closer, "Just let them get a little closer".

"Standby. Standby..."

Then, the Captain shouted, "OPEN FIRE!", before unleashing rounds with his Colt Commando, and Price and Gideon followed with the Minimi and M16A2.  
Immediately, much of the mercenaries were brought down, while Zakhaev, his merc bodyguard and 2 of his accomplices went into cover.

And soon enough, every mercenary in the ghost town rushed towards the gunfire like insects to a light.

Imran Zakhaev meanwhile, watched as Obukhovsky's mercenaries rushed in and attempted to take on the assassins in their defensive positions, only for the assassins to dispatch them pretty easily.  
It was at this point, that Zakhaev got his Desert Eagle, checked it over, and got himself out of cover, much to Makarov and Yuri's surprise. Aiming his Desert Eagle, he pulled the trigger and opened fire at where he reckoned the assassins were taking cover.  
Those rounds, made Mac and Price duck their heads down, and Gideon shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!"

However, Price was silent, and lined up the sights of his M16A2, which he had unslung since his Minimi went empty, and put them straight on their target.

Once Imran Zakhaev was in the sights, Price pulled the trigger on his M16A2, and the 3 rounds that left through the barrel, zipped over to the other side of the warehouse before striking Zakhaev in the left arm, before pulling the trigger again and the three rounds then hit Zakhaev in his chest, bringing him down to the floor.

Immediately, Makarov and Yuri took action and dragged Zakhaev into cover, only to receive incoming fire from Price and Gideon.

Gideon's rounds grazed Yuri in his face, giving him three distinct scars across his right cheek and his chin, while Price fired off rounds that struck Makarov in his left shoulder.

Then, Mac gave the order for Price and Gideon to leave.  
Gideon went over to Finch, who was safely within cover himself, and got him up.

And then, Mac shouted for them to move, while he suppressed the enemy. Both Price and Gideon (who was carrying Finch), moved down from the gantry in the warehouse and headed straight for the outdoors, intent on getting out of the town.

Vladimir Makarov saw them. The assassins who had managed to take down Zakhaev after failing on their first try.

They were dressed in British Disruptive Pattern Material, wore gloves and boots as well as a variety of hats, and were armed with the M16 (one of them had one of it's shortened carbine variants, and one of them had an underslung grenade launcher on his M16).

Seeing the assassins leave, Vladimir then looked over to Yuri, who was tending to a wounded Imran Zakhaev on the floor.  
Calling him over, Makarov then had Yuri take Zakhaev and get him some help, "Yuri. Take Zakhaev to safety at once. Get him straight a doctor, immediately!"

His friend however, wanted to stay and help him, "But, Vladimir..."  
"NOW! I'll take care of these assassins myself".

At this, Yuri nodded, before leaving his friend to pursue the assassins himself.  
Makarov saw an AKS-74U on the floor, picked up, unloaded and checked it's magazine before reloading it onto the weapon and then, moving to pursue.

By the time Makarov had left the warehouse, the assassins had gotten a head start ahead of him, and Makarov really picked up the pace, to catch up.

And by the time he caught up, the assassins were on the outskirts of town and now heading downhill, straight down towards the coastline.  
But luck was on his side, as two Ural-375 trucks with mercenaries in the back, arrived and stopped. The mercenaries then jumped off and rushed to engage the assassins, unleashing a hail of gunfire.  
Makarov joined in, lining up the sights of his AKS-74U at one of the assassins, who was carrying a wounded assassin on one side, focus completely on heading towards the coast.

Then, he pulled the trigger.

Six rounds were fired, and two of them struck Gideon in his right shoulder and his right arm, while the rest all hit Finch in the back, throwing him forward into the ground.

MacMillan and Price, all the while being under fire, reached a spot downhill where they could provide covering fire for Gideon and Finch.  
Many mercenaries fell, especially when Price resorted to the M203, but eventually they were now starting to realise that they were running low on ammunition.

So Price shouted to his Captain, "Mac! Check on Gideon and Henry! I'll provide cover, then I'll follow!"

Despite his skepticism of this plan, Mac followed through and went over to Gideon and Finch, who were now within cover.  
"How's Henry?"  
"Not doing too well, Captain. He took a lot of rounds, entry wounds are around near the lungs and the spinal cord".  
"Right. We need to get him out of here. Now!"

And while Mac arranged for Gideon to get Finch to safety, Price was still laying down covering fire, trying to buy as much time as he could.  
But he reckoned that time was running out, so drastic action was needed and Price angled the M203 to shoot at the right foremost truck.

So, once he was sure that the round would hit, he fired off his second to last round, before getting into cover, sliding the grenade launcher open, slapping a round in and then sliding the grenade launcher shut. He could hear that the round that he had fired, had too low to hit the truck, and he cursed himself.

 _Gotta make this one really count_...

Checking to his right, he saw that the Captain was getting Gideon and Henry further and further away from him, so without a second thought, even as the mercenaries continued laying down fire onto their position, Price popped out of cover, and aimed the M203 at the only remaining truck, straight ahead of him, uphill.

But when the mercenaries started opening fire again at him, all it took was for Price to move slightly and the M203 round missed. Again.

With his grenade launcher empty, Price was at a loss, especially when a T-72, a BMP-1 and a BTR-60 appeared to join in the fight.

 _Ah, crap_ , thought Price.

And then he realised that they still had the three M72 LAWs with them.

Turning his head, he could see that Gideon was about to get Finch over to safety, when Price shouted to Mac to bring him the LAWs.  
Without hesitation, Mac and Gideon passed him their 66mm LAWs, and Price got his out first, pulling off the blast covers before extending the rear tube to lock it into the firing position, then popping open the sights.  
Turning his head over to Mac and Gideon, Price shouted, "GO!", before turning back to aim at the BTR-60 which was positioning itself in an exposed position, so that the gunner could train the KPVT cannon and it's coaxial PKT machine gun onto them.  
Coincidentally, there were a lot of mercenaries congested near the T-72, and the BMP-1 that was off to it's left.

Firing the weapon, Price hit the BTR's cannon, wrecking it to an extent that it could not be used anymore.

Chucking it to one side, Price got the second LAW, got it ready and then fired it at the T-72, which was now moving forward and about to go downhill.  
However, doing so, meant that it was exposing it's underbelly.

 _Perfect_ , thought Price as he then fired the weapon, and hit it straight in the underbelly.  
The tank came to an immediate stop, with smoke and fire now pouring all over from within, and Price could see the tank driver bailing out, aflame.

And while the mercenaries on the top with the BMP-1 were now moving downhill with it, Price got his last remaining LAW and opened fire.  
Having aimed for the side of the vehicle, the LAW managed to hit right next to the turret, and within seconds, the ammunition exploded, killing a lot of mercenaries.

Seconds later, the T-72's ammunition cooked off and the explosion was much bigger than the BMP's, killing and wounding a lot more mercenaries.

* * *

Makarov, meanwhile, had been thrown to the floor by the explosion of the T-72. And now every mercenary was either dead or wounded.

Getting up, despite his sore body and his injuries, Makarov then saw as the last assassin made to leave, and brought up his arms, ready to fire his weapon, only to realise that he did not have a weapon within his arms.

But the two of them, did catch each other's eyes, and soon, they were memorised for a few seconds.  
With the flames illuminating the whole scene, Vladimir Makarov and Jonathan Price looked at one another, and even though it was brief, as Price turned and ran to regroup with the others, Vladimir Makarov still was staring at the spot where the British assassin (he was very certain that it was a British man) had been.  
And the image of the British assassin, was a image that he would absolutely never forget in his mind, for the rest of his life.

* * *

However, by the time Price had caught up with Gideon and Mac, in a forest far from the ghost town that they had left behind, things were not looking so well for Staff Sergeant Henry Finch, as he was now on the forest floor.

Upon seeing that Gideon and Mac were not doing anything to help him, Price asked, "What's happening?!"  
MacMillan then turned his head to look at his protege, and said, "Henry's sustained too many injuries. The bullets went right through his lungs and the rib cage. He's suffering too much internal bleeding. There's nothing we can do anymore, John. I'm sorry".

A gasp from Finch however, brought their attention, and soon, MacMillan and Price went over to his side, while Gideon stayed on the lookout.

"Henry. Henry! Can you hear me?"  
Finch slightly nodded his head to the Captain's question, and then he asked, "Did... Did we... *cough cough* ggeeeteet..., Zzzaar...zakhaev?"  
Price said, "I got him, Henry. He went down".

And then, Staff Sergeant Henry Finch's lips turned up into a smile before he started rapidly coughing and gasping, and soon, Mac and Price could see that it wasn't going to be long.

Soon enough, Staff Sergeant Henry Finch, an former Royal Engineer from Lancaster of 46 years old, passed away in a forest in the Kamchatka Peninsular in Russia.

It took a while, as silence fell amongst the whole team while they took it all in, MacMillan then took a deep breath before he gave his next orders, "Gideon, take his body. We're not leaving Henry behind. C'mon, we need to move and fast".

* * *

They had done it.

By the time that the sun was starting to descend, the team had reached the coastline, or more particularly, a small fishing community with fishing boats. And luckily for them, no one was around.

But they were still ever alert, despite being nearly home free, Mac, Price and Gideon (carrying Henry's body) had found an escape vehicle, in the form of a trawler that was docked at the small harbour.

Getting onto it, followed by Price and Mac, Gideon put Henry's body on the deck, before he searched the vessel and found it to be in a seaworthy condition, with an engine that worked.  
When he went back to report to Mac and Price, the Captain then had Gideon get the engine below decks, due to his experience as a driver who drove Land Rovers, Leyland and Bedford trucks as well as the Stolly during his time with the 'Loggies' and beforehand, the 'Troggs'.

Then, Mac and Price went to the starboard side of the trawler, got out his knife and so did Price, and cut the ropes mooring the vessel to the harbour, allowing it to drift.

Eventually, Gideon got the engine working and the trawler was soon off and away into the Pacific Ocean, towards the rendezvous with the submarine that would pick them up.  
While Price steered the trawler, Mac got onto the radio with the submarine, arranging for pick up.

* * *

By the time that daylight had gone, and darkness engulfed the landscape of the sea, the peaceful scene of a Russian trawler chugging along, was interrupted by the sudden emergence of a Los Angeles-class submarine that had rapidly surfaced nearby.

MacMillan told Price and Gideon that this was their pickup, the _USS Tucson_ , before he got onto the radio with the submarine and asked for some help with the dead body of Staff Sergeant Henry Finch.  
After receiving an affirmative, Price carefully manoeuvred the trawler into position under the guidance of Mac (who did state jokingly that if he got one scratch on the submarine, Hereford will undoubtably be receiving a bill courtesy of the US Navy, before simply telling him, 'Just don't damage the sub, eh, Leftenant?'), whilst US Navy sailors helped out by throwing mooring ropes to Gideon, in order to secure it to the submarine's port side.

Once they were secure, 4 US Navy sailors with a body bag then got onboard the trawler and got Finch's body into it, before returning to the submarine.

Then, it was time to leave, but before they did so, Mac had the _Tucson_ come to a full stop, with Price turning off the trawler's engine.

With both vessels stopped, it was time to scuttle the trawler, and Gideon untied the mooring ropes, before joining Price and Mac who jumped onto the submarine.

All three of them got up to the conning tower, and Mac then spoke with the Commanding Officer, who arranged for the _Tucson_ to get into a safe firing position at the drifting trawler.

Once the submarine had moved off and turned, the crewmen on board loaded a 21-inch Mark 48 Torpedo into a torpedo tube, before firing control aimed and fired it.

On the conning tower, Mac, Price and Gideon watched as the torpedo left a wake and then exploded, destroying the trawler and ripping apart, leaving only debris that would slip beneath the waves.  
Then, after the _Tucson_ left the area, they climbed down from the conning tower, before a American sailor closed the hatch, just as the order was given to dive the submarine.

Immediately, Mac, Price and Gideon felt as the _USS Tucson_ descended beneath the waves to periscope depth, and went on a course that would take them directly to Pearl Harbor.

* * *

 **Whoa, what a rush! Man, that was quite a chapter!**  
 **With the mission essentially a success, the three team members, along with their dead comrade, head for home.**

 **Or was it?**  
 **Dun dun dun!**

 **Next chapter, the men come home to their families and we get to see a little epilogue, a taste of what's to come in future...**

 **Loggie is a nickname associated with the Royal Logistics Corps, while Trogg is also a nickname associated with the Royal Corps of Transport, one of the RLC's predecessor corps.**

 **Stolly is the informal name given by British Army servicemen to the Alvis Stalwart, a 6x6 amphibious truck that was in service with the British Army.**

 **I had initially planned for the SAS team to scuttle the trawler with their own weapons, or grenades, but I was having too much trouble with this so I settled for just simply having the _Tucson_ torpedo the trawler.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!**

 **So, since I'm reckoning that this will be the last fanfic chapter that I'll be posting in 2017 (and the next time I post, it'll be 2018, no doubt), all I can say is, have a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!**

 **Update (11/12/17): Extended the battle downhill to some extent.**


	5. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Call of Duty does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Activision.**

* * *

 _A hospital somewhere in the Kamchatka Peninsular, Russian Federation_.  
 _23rd December, 1996_.

Imran Zakhaev's life had depended on immediate medical treatment, and it was that fact that gave them all no choice, but to take him to this really, out-of-shape, crumbling apart, hospital that had seen better days.

And so, Viktor Zakhaev, Vladimir Makarov, Yuri Vatutin and Lev Kravchenko all stood outside an operating room awaiting for news as the doctors continued operating on their injured leader.

The waiting just seemed to last for hours, until the doors opened and out came a doctor.

Immediately, Viktor shot up and made his way to the doctor, demanding for some news on his father.  
However, Vladimir could see that the doctor was very terrified of Viktor's shouting and the fact that he was gripping the doctor's collar by both hands wasn't helping.

So Vladimir, and Yuri came up to Viktor and pulled him back, saying "Viktor, calm yourself, your shouting will not do us any favours".

And despite Zakhaev's son scowling at Vladimir for daring to manhandle him, Zakhaev's protege soon turned to the doctor and calmly asked if he had any news on Zakhaev's condition.

The doctor, thankful for Makarov's calm approach and questions, then gave the answers, "Yes I do, comrade. We, erm, well, did manage to remove the bullets from his chest. Despite their shots, we managed to ensure that they did not do any damage to his heart or his lungs".

Viktor smiled and was ecstatic at the news, until the doctor, still carrying a grim face on him, muttered, "But..."  
The whole attitude in the room shifted, and Makarov calmly asked, "But what?"  
Gulping, the Doctor sweated and rubbed his brow with his arm, "We've had to amputate his left arm. The wounds sustained, were heavily infected, and we could have been risking his life if left untreated, so we had to cut away above the elbow..."

Enraged, Viktor launched himself at the doctor, screaming for doing such a thing to his father, which prompted Makarov and Yuri to put themselves between Zakhaev's enraged son, and the doctor, who looked absolutely terrified at all this.

Kravchenko then intervened and sternly advised Viktor to calm himself down.  
It took a while for the message to get through to him, but eventually, Viktor calmed down.

Then, Viktor and Vladimir entered, despite the doctor's protests, with Yuri and Kravchenko staying outside the operating room.

Inside, Zakhaev, lying down on a hospital bed, had been stripped of his clothing (which had been ripped apart and thrown away as part of the efforts to save Zakhaev), with only hospital wear on him, various drips and a link to a ancient medical monitor that displayed the heartbeat on a green screen.

Makarov was astonished to look at how fatigued and drained Zakhaev looked, after all those hours under the care of the doctors that had saved his life. For all the years he had served with Zakhaev as his protege, Vladimir had a slight bit of envy for Imran's charisma, will and strength that enabled him to bear the weight on his shoulders of this new movement that he was building.

Viktor approached his father gingerly, until the man himself, who had his eyes closed, noticed someone close-by.  
Opening them slightly, it took a good long while for Imran Zakhaev to get his bearings, and Vladimir reckoned that he must be still feeling the effects of a sedative.

But then, he managed to muster the strength to utter one word.  
"Viktor..."

Immediately, Imran's son nodded his head and said, "Yes, father. I'm here".

A pause, and Zakhaev asked, "Wh..er...e, am...I?", before he tried to move, only to grunt in pain.  
This prompted a doctor to rush over, and urge him not to move around, as he just had an operation.  
Nodding his head, and complying, Viktor then took a seat by his father's hospital bed, smiling and said, "Don't worry, father. You're going to be alright! We've managed to save your life".

Vladimir then found the opportunity to speak up, "If it weren't for Yuri getting you straight to the hospital, we would have lost you, Imran Damirovich. I am very glad to see you are going to be alright".  
Upon hearing his protege's voice, Imran turned his head slightly to look at him, seeing him standing slightly in front of his bed, before giving him a fond smile.  
"Ah, Vladimir. So great to see you"

Viktor scowled at Vladimir, for diverting his father's attention directly from him straight to his father's protege, and said, "Alright, Makarov, you've seen father's well and going to be alright. Why don't you go and tell Kravchenko and your pet dog, Yuri the news, eh?", all the while sneering at him.

But then, all activity in the room seemed to stop as Imran asked, "Why can't I feel my left arm?!"  
Then, both Viktor and Vladimir shared glances with one another, forgetting their rivalry for a second, before they tried to figure out how best to explain it to Imran Zakhaev.

Viktor settled for avoiding the question entirely, in favour of asking, "What do you mean, father?"  
"I mean, why can I not feel my left arm, or my left hand, Viktor!? All I get, is this sort of strange feeling, like my entire left arm is gone and has disappeared".

But before Viktor can speak, Vladimir settled for breaking the news honestly to Zakhaev,  
"Imran, I don't know how to put this to you in any soft way, so I'm just going to say it to you. Your left arm has been amputated".

An shocked silence filled the room, before Imran mouthed 'what?', and this prompted Vladimir to fill in the details on what had happened.  
"The assassins put bullets into your chest and into your left arm, then you went down. I tasked Yuri to getting you straight to hospital, and then, I went in pursuit of the assassins, and did manage to inflict wounds on one of them. Straight into the back. But they all escaped. Despite my best efforts".

Vladimir Makarov expected Imran Zakhaev to say something, so he was quite a bit surprised when Imran just fell silent at that, and instead mused on the future of his Ultranationalist movement.

After Imran asked, "How am I going to lead a movement with only one arm, Vladimir!?", Makarov had enough and tried to muster up his leader's faltering spirits, by saying, "Imran Damirovich, you do not need a arm or a leg to bring about or start a revolution. All you will need', pointing to his head, 'is your mind', before continuing on, 'your will and spirit driving your words of inspiration for the people, and they will follow you".

"You think so, Vladimir?"  
"I am certain".

Imran Damirovich Zakhaev, managed to smile, before turning to his son, who was scowling furiously at Vladimir, and said simply, "Isn't it amazing, my son, the people who stick by me even when I am wounded and on the verge of death?"

Diverting his attention from Makarov, Viktor mustered a smile for his father, even though he really did not like to phrase Vladimir Makarov one bit, and said simply, "Yes father. Even a wounded bear, is still a dangerous bear. And you are a very dangerous bear".

Smiling widely at his son, Imran's right arm came over to pat Viktor on his shoulder as he said, "Indeed I am. These assassins made a huge mistake, going into the den of the bear to provoke it", before he then spoke out loud to the room at large, "Mark my words. They think that the Ultranationalist movement is over. Oooooh, how wrong they are. We're only just getting started. It'll be years, before we make the strike, but when we do, we will become a force to be reckoned with before long. And the West will learn that it is unwise to provoke a wounded bear".

* * *

 _Stirling Lines, Hereford, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland_.  
 _24th December, 1996_.

After opening the door to his house, and stepping out of the cold of the windy, and snowy winter weather, Lieutenant John Price soon saw quite a change in his house, from the one he left several days ago.

The house was alight and vibrant with Christmas decorations.  
Sure, Price had brought a Christmas tree as a present for Andrea before he left, but they hadn't gotten around to decorating the house just yet.

Price reckoned that Andrea must have gotten the other wives at Hereford to help out, considering her impeding due date, which must be coming soon.

Andrea, who was in the kitchen preparing for her husband's arrival and preparing their dinner, stopped in her tracks when John announced himself, "Andrea, I'm home!"

But she regained her control, holding in her joy only slightly, and even though she was a bit busy cooking dinner, Andrea responded, "In the kitchen, John!"

The footsteps grew louder and soon, in the entrance to the kitchen, stood her husband.

And thus, there was a brief pause before Andrea squealed in delight as she stopped what she was doing and moved forward towards her husband, who did the same. Then, both Andrea and John embraced each other, relieved to be within each other's arms.  
Clutching her husband tightly, Andrea whispered "I missed you".

Warmed by his wife's words, Price inwardly smiled as he said back, "I missed you too, Andrea".

And indeed he did, despite them being back earlier than they anticipated, as everyone on the team thought that they'd be spending Christmas all the way over in the Kamchatka Peninsular. And the same probably went for their families.  
The _Tucson_ had manage to get Price, Mac and Gideon (along with Henry's body) to Pearl Harbor, arriving on the morning of the 23rd, and they took a flight back to the UK from Honolulu by lunchtime, arriving at Heathrow in the evening.

Taking note of the Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree, Price remarked to Andrea, "I see you've managed to get the place decorated".

Releasing themselves from their embrace, Andrea smiled, "Yeah, Gillian came around with Sally, Jane and Rachel, you know, Peter, Michael and Joe's wives? They came around on Saturday to help put up the decorations".

Remembering the wives of Staff Sergeant Peter Auster, Sergeant Michael Eady and Corporal Joe Holdsworth, who were also in the Regiment, John then looked down towards his wife's swollen stomach, and put a hand on it before he asked, "So, how's the little one been treating you?"

Andrea smiled at John as he rubbed her swollen belly, "Kicking me like a footballer, this one has. Not too badly today', before looking down and adding, 'Still, just wish he, or she, would pop out already".

Then moments after, Price felt their unborn child kicking a bit, before withdrawing his hand, and then letting silence fester for a moment as he tried to muster the courage to start off saying about Henry, thinking about Henry's ex-wife Wendy and their three kids.  
"I take it that you heard the news about...", before Andrea cut in and nodded, knowing what he was talking about, "Yeah. Gillian, me, Sally, Jane, Rachel and the other wives went over to Wendy's place, when we heard".  
"How is Wendy?"  
A brief moment of silence, until John could hear some sniffles as Andrea continued, "Wendy may be his ex-wife, but she still took it hard. So did their kids. Oh, the news was very hard for them. They took it harder than Wendy".

Then she embraced John once again, with some slight tears watering from her eyes as she held her husband tightly, and shook slightly, indicating to him that she was quite affected by the whole thing.  
All John could do, was to hold his wife close, and let her draw comfort from the presence of her husband, after being away for a good long while.

* * *

 _A church outside Hereford, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland_.  
 _27th December, 1996_.

Leaving the Church, now that the service for the funeral of Staff Sergeant Henry Finch was over, the possession followed behind the coffin and the bearer party, who were now heading to an allocated gravesite for Henry.

Amongst the possession, was the Lieutenant Colonel and his wife, as well as A Squadron Commander, the Regimental Sergeant Major and the Squadron Sergeant Major, along with a handful of other officers in the Regiment and others who had served with Henry.  
Kenneth MacMillan was also there, as was his wife Gillian, while Price was with Andrea, as was Gideon.  
But more importantly, Finch's ex-wife Wendy Mursell, his eldest daughter Molly, his eldest son Mark, and youngest daughter Rachel were also there.

It took a while, until the coffin reached the gravesite, and the pallbearers set it down, readying for it to be lowered into the ground.

But there were a few things that they needed to do first.

Firstly, the pallbearers removed the wreath and the beret on top of the flag draped coffin, before gathering up the flag, and folding it up, while a rifle party of five, got their L85A1 rifles ready, and on the instruction of the NCO in command, aimed and then fired, before bringing down their weapons.  
Then, they brought up their weapons, aimed and fired, before repeating the action for the third and final time.

And once they were done, the NCO in charge of the bearer party took the folded-up Union Flag and went to present it to Molly Finch, who was Henry's immediate next of kin, due to his parents having died before him, and he and Wendy being divorced.

Presented with the flag, a tearful Molly wordlessly took it and held it close, before starting to sob a bit, as did her siblings (who were by her left).  
Wendy, who was on Molly's right, put a hand on her right shoulder, trying her best to hold it together and comfort her daughter.

Then, as Henry's coffin was lowered into the ground, a Bugle could be heard by the possession, playing the bugle call known as The Last Post.

And as the bugler called off the notes of The Last Post, the possession stood in silence, all remembering Staff Sergeant Henry Finch.

* * *

With the funeral now properly over, John and Andrea held each other's hands, as they walked towards the parked cars that were awaiting for the whole possession to go down straight to the wake.

They walked together in silence, with only the crunching of gravel, the sounds of the birds and the breeze of the wind to fill the silence of the church grounds, until they reached the cars and headed straight to the nearby local pub, which was holding the wake.

When they reached the pub however, they saw Wendy and the kids outside, being given words of comfort from Kenneth and Gillian.  
Deciding to join them, John and Andrea headed over, before they were seen by both Wendy and Gillian.

Wendy asked Gillian to bring the kids into the pub and keep an eye on them for a while, before both Andrea and Wendy got within reach of one another and hugged each other, whilst John stood to one side with Kenneth, as he let his wife speak to Wendy.

Andrea asked her friend, "Wendy! How are you holding up?"  
A sniffle was her response, before some tears came, which she wiped away.  
"I'm okay at the moment, thanks Andrea", before noticing her friend's husband standing off to one side, "John! It's great to see you. So glad you came!"

As Andrea let go of her embrace of her friend, John came forward and allowed himself to be embraced by Wendy, before she then let go, and thus, John, Andrea, Kenneth and Andrea all then started to chat amongst themselves.

John was the first to speak, "Oh, Wendy, I don't need to tell you how sorry I and Kenneth are for your loss".  
Wendy shook her head and said, "No, but thanks anyway, John".

Price nodded, and then Andrea asked, "How are the kids holding up?"  
Wendy explained at how her son and daughters were coping in the aftermath of hearing the death of their father, and various parts of the tale made Wendy slightly tear up a bit, which prompted Andrea to bring a tissue out for her, which her friend took, muttering a simple 'thank you, Andrea'.

Then, came a few more questions, until Kenneth asked Wendy, "Are you and the kids going to be okay, Wendy? If there's anything we can do for you and the kids, Wendy, anything at all..."  
"Thank you, Kenneth, but we've all got it covered. There's a place in Gloucester that we've managed to get ourselves. We'll be moving in after the new year. Don't worry, we'll be fine".

A smile and "That's good to hear, Wendy. But if you do need anything from us..."  
"I know". But then, she realised how much time had passed, and said to John, Andrea and Kenneth, "I'll be inside", before she abruptly left them and went into the pub.

A pause, before John said to Kenneth, "Alright, I think we should get inside while we're at it. Gillian's probably looking you, Kenneth".  
"Yeah, you're most certainly right..."

* * *

 **The End!**

 **Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've enjoyed this last chapter of Operation Baseplate!**

 **However, with Imran Zakhaev still alive, you can bet that we've not seen the last of the Ultranationalist movement.** ****

 **It might be a while, but** **still,** **stay tuned, as we prepare to jump years ahead to the next story in this series that I'm working up, which is around the same time period as Call of Duty 4.  
I am really so looking forward to getting this new Task Force 141 series off the ground.**

 **At first, I was going to** **have the whole Zakhaev in hospital, at the end of this chapter, and have John Price returning home to his wife at the beginning, with the funeral of Henry Finch within the middle, but as I reckoned that doing it like that would be confusing, I switched things around, to have Zakhaev at the beginning, before we have Price and the funeral at the middle and the end of the chapter, which upon looking at it, looks much better than what I had planned.  
I am however, slightly a bit nervous at how I portrayed Finch's funeral and the details in regards to a military funeral. I just hope I got them right.**

 **Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!** **  
**


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